Dear
Readers,
These columns began on my area of America Online, called: Judaism
Today: Where Do I Fit? People anonymously
sent me E-Mail, and I began to choose one for a public response
in my Jewish E-Mail of the Week column. The column has become
quite popular and is now syndicated internationally in many
Jewish papers and websites. I hope you find they help you
as you think about the Ethics, Spirituality and Peoplehood
components of the Jewish way of Life. I welcome your
comments... see the end of the column.
Gil
PS
Teachers and others, feel free to copy my columns and forward
them or use them as you see fit. Please see the friendly
copyright notice at the end. |
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CAN A
JEW PRAY IN CHRIST'S NAME?
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Living as a minority in this
predominantly Christian Country most of us have or will encounter the
dilemma like the one described in this letter. What would you do?
Dear Gil:
I am Jewish and work at a Catholic
Hospital. It is a wonderful job that I enjoy. The only thing that
reminds me that I am working in this environment is the fact that the
building is adorned in a Christian manner (i.e., crucifixes in the
rooms) and most large meetings are preceded with a prayer.
The prayers, ad libbed by a staff
member in attendance, generally are not religious in nature
("please look after the people in this room", "help us to
follow our Mission", etc.). They do, however, begin with
"Heavenly Father" and end with "In Christ's Name We
Pray".
During these prayer times, I do not
bow my head, close my eyes nor say "Amen" as do the rest in
attendance. I do, however, remain quiet, eyes focused forward. My
question: Am I being rude to my co-workers by ignoring their observance?
Is there a better way to behave without dishonoring my own upbringing?
I've always wondered....
B
Dear B:
A difficult situation you are
describing. Made all the more difficult by two opposite responses that I
will offer you.
I checked with an Orthodox Rabbi who
told me that according to Halacha or Jewish law, Jews are not supposed
to participate in worship of religions other than ours.
He then told me a remarkable story
about the Chief Rabbi of Mexico, who was visiting Iran after the
Ayatollah Khomeini took power. At a public meeting with the Ayatollah,
as a part of a Muslim prayer session, all got down on their knees and
bowed to Allah....all but the Rabbi that is.
He was worried about his behavior but
felt he had no choice. His worry was warranted. When the prayer was
over, he was taken out by Iranian soldiers. He was then brought to the
Ayatollah who asked through an interpreter why he refused to bow. The
Rabbi responded that he was prohibited by his Jewish faith.
The Ayatollah responded that "You
are a man I can trust. You will not do things just to please
others." The Rabbi than asked for intervention on behalf of Iranian
Jews and apparently was granted some form of help.
Notwithstanding Halacha and this
inspirational story, I have found myself in situations such as those you
are describing and usually my response has been to bow my head out of
courtesy and say nothing.
An equivalent might be if a non-Jew
visiting a synagogue, remained seated when the rest of the Jewish
congregation stood for prayer...like when the Torah Ark is opened. Or if
a non-Jew would refuse to wear a kipah or yarmulke in a synagogue where
Jews wear them. These rituals, like bowing ones head are signs of
respect to God. But, if your beliefs make bowing your head difficult or
impossible, you might think of bowing your head out of courtesy to your
non-Jewish colleagues.
Surely some would disagree with me and
I understand that since I have not felt 100% comfortable bowing during
Christian prayer. Sometimes, a way I can feel more comfortable bowing is
if I silently offer a prayer to "my" God. (After all, we bow
our heads during our Alenu prayer.)
Where does this leave you? One solution
would be to respectfully approach those reciting the prayers if you feel
you can -- given that the hospital is Catholic and they are entitled to
their beliefs. Explain politely and gently that you would like to
participate and that you don't mean to offend, but your religious
beliefs and laws would require the prayer's wording be more generic
about God without references to Jesus. If they say this is not possible
or you feel making the request is inappropriate, then you can decide how
or if you will participate per the arguments above.
I hope that this helps you to find a
way to show respect toward your colleagues and perhaps even add your
Jewish voice to theirs, so you too can pray for the guidance, wisdom and
compassion to heal the sick and comfort those in pain.
Gil
A FRIENDLY COPYRIGHT NOTICE
© Copyright Gil Mann
These columns can be found at www.beingjewish.org. Not
only do I give you permissions to copy these Jewish Email
columns...I HOPE YOU WILL and that you share them with others!
All I ask is that you never charge anyone for them and that you
also include this little copyright notice. Thank You!
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